Updated Update Brake Problem

[thousandlegs]

Pleasure and Pain...that's what owning a Cougar is like. At least it's better than a lot of used cars where it's just pain and pain.

Anyway, I'm having a problem with my car. It feels like after the wheels/tires/brakes get warmed up the car is constantly braking...just a little. Here's what I mean: When I leave my house in the morning to go to work the car rolls really easily when I am at a stop and not holding the brake (mtx). Then once I get to the office and pull into a parking space it almost feels like I have the brake applied, gently. My parking spot is fairly level but it has some slope to it and the car should roll just a bit...I'd think. It stops a bit like the brake is applied when I pull up to a stop sign/light too. I can get down to very low speed and then with no brake it feels like I've stopped the car rather than just a loss of forward momentum.

I felt the wheels and tires and none of them feel any warmer than the others. I'm at a loss :confused:

Any suggestions?

[thousandlegs]

a-chew!

anyone else experienced this
...not the sneeze but the feeling like braking?

[kustomcougar]

is your parking brake up a little bit where you dont notice it?

[thousandlegs]

no :confused: :banghead:

[LostRacer]

Possible brake drag..Maybe a caliper is sticking a bit..

[thousandlegs]

Possible brake drag..Maybe a caliper is sticking a bit..

That was one of the first things that I thought...but I figured that one of the wheels would be noticeably hotter from the friction. None were. After thinking about it some more I do believe that it is a brake issue though. I parked on somewhat of an incline at work this morning and the car stuck where it was. :(

Also, I noticed that when I first get in the car and back out of my driveway the pedal is really squishy but then as I drive it gets tighter and tighter to the point where I can barely push it at all :confused:

-On a side note; I'm going to try to stop typing in all lowercase. Good grammar and punctuation are important, yes?:biggrin:

EDIT: I'm wondering if it might be a fluid problem. Maybe a good bleed and refill would help.

[thousandlegs]

Anyone?

[thousandlegs]

Ok, I just taked to my dad and he seemed pretty sure that it sounded like the master cylinder was going out and not letting the pressure off.

I think that I'm gonna check the local boneyards to see if I can find a good one. Does anyone know which other cars' cylinder is the same? I'm probably not going to find a Cougar around here in the yard.

[LostRacer]

contour.

[sonza68]

The Mercury Mystique as well.

[thousandlegs]

Thanks, there's sure to be at least one of the three around here.

[thousandlegs]

Ok, here's the current situation. I hope someone can help!

I'm certain that the brakes are grabbing even when they're not engaged by the pedal. I took the vacuum line for the brake booster out of the UIM and it was hard to stop, of course, but once I did stop when I let off the brake the car would roll as expected.

With the vacuum line in place when I come to a stop the car will hold it's place when the brake pedal is released. Also, with the vacuum line attached I can feel the car take a nosedive when I clutch to shift gears. This is not happening when the booster vacuum is unplugged.

BTW: I plugged the port in the UIM so that the car would run properly with the booster vacuum disconnected.

Ty, you've been a good help so far...any ideas?

[Gorman]

The fact that the car seems to nose dive when you change gear, suggests that a front brake a dragging. Have you tried jacking up the front of the car and spinning the wheels ? It could be the carrier is not sliding freely on one of the calipers... If not, try checking the rears too. G.

[thousandlegs]

Alright, I've got it fixed. I went to the boneyard and got the brake booster and master cylinder out of a 98 Contour. I wasn't certain if it was the booster or the cylinder so I just got both. $36 for the pair so...why not. The swap wasn't too terribly difficult and now my brakes work just as they should.

[kwg2371]

Alright, I've got it fixed. I went to the boneyard and got the brake booster and master cylinder out of a 98 Contour. I wasn't certain if it was the booster or the cylinder so I just got both. $36 for the pair so...why not. The swap wasn't too terribly difficult and now my brakes work just as they should.

any dash lights come on ???

[thousandlegs]

any dash lights come on ???

No, there was never a dash light for the problem. It would have been nice though. I could have probably just changed the booster OR the cylinder that way.

Now I've either got a good cylinder or booster extra and nothing to do with them and no way to know which. I've also got the rod that goes from the brake pedal through the booster and into the cylinder. Maybe I'll put it in the for sale section just for shipping costs.

Edit: Also, thanks to Ty, Tom, Wade and Gorman for input and advice. :)

[kwg2371]

No, there was never a dash light for the problem. It would have been nice though. I could have probably just changed the booster OR the cylinder that way.

Now I've either got a good cylinder or booster extra and nothing to do with them and no way to know which. I've also got the rod that goes from the brake pedal through the booster and into the cylinder. Maybe I'll put it in the for sale section just for shipping costs.

Edit: Also, thanks to Ty, Tom, Wade and Gorman for input and advice. :)

HMM, my lights are on and it says the ABS hydraulic pump is bad:banghead:

[thousandlegs]

Can't help you there aside from suggesting that you get your pump checked out.